This approachable yet cellar-worthy Bordeaux is a blend of almost equal parts cabernet sauvignon and merlot, with just under 10% petit verdot adding a hint of spice on the palate. From Château Beaumont, this is unmistakably Médoc but with easy, ripe tannins ensuring plenty of drinking pleasure.

£13.95per unit

Details correct as at: 11/03/2019 10:49

I tried this for the first time, as I have a couple of bottles. It was lovely. Just what I want a claret to be, fruity and up front, but also enough there to know I can leave it a while to develop - not that I’m likely to.

Kooyong produce a number of single-vineyard pinots, and Ferrous is from a 1.3ha vineyard plot of 17-year-old vines. This is Kooyong's richest style of pinot noir, with a distinctive iron note, redcurrant and bramble flavours. We recommend a quick decant to get its remarkable aromas going!

This wine or vintage is no longer available.

Details correct as at: 11/03/2019 11:51

Light body belies the depth of flavour. Cherry, plums, cola, mossy forest floor. incense and an astonishing blood and iron note all encountered, either on the nose and palate, through drinking. Complex and nuanced with real individuality. And only 12.5% ABV. I preferred this to the richer more alcoholic 2013.

This rare bottling, of just 600 cases, comes from a small four acre vineyard in the Barossa's Ebenezer district. The Schrapel family is the sixth generation to be guardians of this very special patch of old vine shiraz planted in 1885. 2009 was an excellent season here, producing wines with great...

This wine or vintage is no longer available.

Details correct as at: 11/03/2019 11:51

Inky colour. Only just showing secondary development, Medium to full body but no heaviness just great drinkability. All the better for not being a blockbuster. TWS drinking window is conservative IMO. With proper cellaring, this has at least ten years in it.

Decanted 2 hours before serving. Deep colour with no browning at the rim. Some fruit, blackcurrants, on the nose with some more earthy notes too.

Tannins much more noticeable than previous bottles, very drying tannins too. Fruit still evident, along with some acidity. Alcohol not too evident despite a high content for claret.

Decent match with roast beef, but too tannic for the cheese. Interesting to note the different comments on Cellartracker on this one - I’ve had two quite different experiences of it too. Not as good as last two bottles, but difficult to tell if this is bottle variation or it’s going downhill. The colour and tannins tells me not, but I wonder if the tannins will now submerge the fruit.

It definitely did need some time to open out, but I thought the tannins weren’t too overpowering. I don’t drink a huge amount of claret, so maybe I was just expecting a tannic wine! Definitely lots of years left in this one. It was in a good place now, but would still be in a good (if different) place in ten years’ time.

Grapes are crushed, fermented and fortified. Timing of fortification is dependant on final sweetness level desired.

Madeira can be aged 2 different ways.
Firstly in the Estufagem method - wine is heated to 45-50c for 3 months in tank then cooled and aged for minimum 2 years. This is typicaly done for the cheaper tinta negra variety.

The more premium way is the Canteiro system. More often done for the white varietals. The wine is to placed in oak which is located at the top of the loft houses on canteiro wooden beam racks (hence the name). This allows the warm sun to ‘maderize’ the wine. Casks are never 100% full so they undergo oxiditive aging also. Wines gradually make their way down the lofts until at the lowest level where they can continue to age for 20+ years.

These systems are to replace the long sea voyages. The shippers used to send the wines to places like India and back where the wine would naturally maderize from crossing the equator 4 times. This makes them virtually indestructable.